Written by

Maureen Wallenfang

Post-Crescent Media

When people began using digital cameras, the photo developing business dried up.

And when tighter DUI laws, smoking ordinances and leaner wallets prompted people to entertain more at home, packaged liquor sales soared.

With habits shifting, it’s easy to see why Woodman’s Food Market, one of the area’s biggest warehouse-style grocery stores, decided to make some significant changes.

The store at 595 N. Westhill Blvd. in Grand Chute axed its photo department last fall and immediately began making plans to use that space to expand its busy liquor department.

“Photo sales were continually decreasing and weren’t enough to keep that area profitable,” said Clint Woodman, vice president of the 14-store, employee-owned business based in Janesville.

“Liquor sales are up, and they have been for past ten years,” he said.

The 23-year-old Grand Chute store currently has a smaller liquor department than those in newer Woodman’s stores. Woodman says the expansion will increase its square footage by 25 to 30 percent.

“The liquor store will be expanded all the way to the front of the store,” he said.

A floor plan in town public records shows the liquor area will be nearly 19,000 square feet when complete.

“People are looking for micro brews, new wines and new flavors in brandy and vodka,” said John Adams, the store’s vice president of operations. “They like variety, and for that you need more space.”

He said the existing liquor department will be open regular hours during the remodeling period, which is expected to go about two more months.

The store’s eastside entrance, facing the corridor between liquor and the former photo area, will be modified so that grocery customers take a jog to the left down a new hallway that will circle the liquor store expansion.

Another eastside door that led directly into the liquor department was removed and shelving will be reoriented to make more efficient use of the space.

In addition to the liquor changes, Woodman says the store is making more upgrades.

“We’re expanding and remodeling and taking out some of the older meat cases and cases in dairy and bakery. We’re taking out cases that have been there since the store was built and replacing them with more efficient cases that can stock more product.”

The store is also gaining more full-service checkout lanes and new self-check lanes that have more bagging space for orders beyond the current 20 item limit. “The new ones will have a full belt so you can actually check out a full cart of groceries,” Woodman said.

Remodeling estimates on file with the town show that store structural changes, plumbing, HVAC and electrical improvements exceed $240,000.